William s



- Nommr.)

w. s. LAW.

. VEHICLE SPRING. No. 245,181. Patented'Aug. 2,1881

iventoz i I STATES PATENT OFFIcE.

WILLIAM s." LAwgor MIn nLntrown, OHIO, ASSIGNOR OF SEVEN-EIGHTHS TO THE LING LEROY BUGGY COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

VEHICLE-SPRING.

SPECIFICATION forming'vpart of Letters Patent No. 245,181, dated August 2, 1881.

Application filed Mar 12, 1881. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, WILLIAM S. LA a citizen of the United States, residing at Middle- ,town, Butler county, Ohio, have invented new and useful Improvements inSpring-Gear for Vehicles, of whichthe following is a specification.

My invention relates to. that classofvehi: clesemploying side bars in connection with the spring-gear in mounting the body upon the axles; and it consists in a novel construction and arrangement of the spring-gear, whereby a lighter and stronger construction of the parts and an easier and more resilient motion of the body upon the springs are se cured.

My invention is embodied in mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of the vehicle-frame with the body and Wheels removed, and Fig. 2 is an enlarged elevation of one of the springs and its connections.

Similar letters of reference indicate similar parts in the specification and drawings,

A A in the drawings indicate the crossbars, upon which the body of the vehicle rests and towhich the springs are secured; B B, the side bars; 0 O, the end bars connecting the side bars, and to which the axles D D are secured, and E the perch extending centrally between the front and rear axles.

1 mount the body upon four or more curved springs, F, somewhat U-shaped, secured at their butts or heavy ends to and beneath the braces A A, and at their smaller extended ends to-the side bars,.Bl These springs are arranged, as"shown,with' their concave sides outward,opening toward the sides of the vehicle, and having sufiicient space between the two contiguous springs attached to the same bar to permit the perch E to extend straight between the front and rear axles without interference.

The springs F are each uniformly curved from their point of attachment to the outer end of the cross-bars A to their point of attachment to the side bars, B, and each spring has on its upper side a supplemental springplate, F, which is secured at one end by the bolts which connect the springs F to the crossbars; and the said supplemental springs are likewise uniformly curved, and extend along and are sustained. by the springs F, and terminate at a short distance from the outer ends of the springs F, as at G. The object of this construction is to dispose the metal of the spring to the best advantage without lessening the resiliency of the spring, but on the contrary increasing the reciliency, and to uniformly transmit the strain throughout the spring.

In use the downward pressure of the weight in the body of the vehicle is uniformly distributd throughout the material of the springs, tending to compress them into a smaller arc of curvature.

Several advantages result from this con- .struction, among-which are the avoidance of any loose parts usually required to accommodate end-thrusts of the springs or weak parts in the spring where coiled over upon itself constructed such springs have been formed of single plates with a series of reverse curves between their ends. This form of spring is objectionable because the strain is concentrated on one of the single short curves, and is therefore exceedingly liable to rupture, and such construction does not constitute my invention.

Having described my invention, I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent- The combination, with the side bars, B, and cross-bars A, of the springs F, uniformly curved from their point of attachment to the In testimony whereof I have hereunto set side and cross bars, and each spring being remy hand in the presence of two subscribing enforced by a similar uniformly-curved supplewitnesses.

mental spring, F, which extends along the WILLIAM S. LAW. upper surface of the spring F, and terminates Witnesses: at a distance from the side bar, as at G, sub- 0. P. DOOLITTLE,

sta'ntially as and for the purposes described. L. M. HOSEA. 

